WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans met Tuesday to discuss their future and are expected to meet again in the afternoon to decide whether they will retain South Dakota Sen. John Thune as leader. The meetings take place just a week later significant losses in the mid-term elections which cost them their majority.
Thune is expected to win re-election in the secret ballot, given that he remains popular with his Republican colleagues and is running unopposed so far. But senators left the closed-door meeting after two hours of discussions without a resolution on the way forward after a erasure of elections it cost them at least seven seats in the Senate.
“We want to be thoughtful and do the right thing,” West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice said at the end of the meeting. He said no obvious alternative had emerged, but “there’s a legitimate argument that, for goodness sake, if we’ve lost as much as we’ve lost, why would we continue with the same leadership?”
At the same time, the current leadership of the Republican Party “is not the cause of this problem,” Justice said. “They do a good job.”
The anxiety comes as the party is I’m just starting to take into account with what the election results mean. Two additional Senate elections remain uncalled in Alaska and Mississippi, which could further reduce their numbers.
Several senators called on Republican leaders to delay the elections, which also include elections for the leadership of other parties and are taking place in a small number of countries. Former Senate Hall. Senators could still seek a vote to delay the election for a week or more when they reconvene Tuesday afternoon.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley said he wasn’t aware of any other presidential candidates, but “maybe there would be” if they waited.
“I just think we have a lot of things we need to think about, and I think rushing out and ratifying the same leadership, what message does that send?” Hawley told reporters after leaving.
“If you don’t think that after losing at least seven Senate seats we need to change course, I don’t know what planet you are on,” he said.
Thune, who replaced Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as leader in early 2025, said before the meeting that they would have a “very comprehensive and robust conversation about where we go from here and then we’ll see what the consensus of the conference is.”
No alternative to Thune has emerged
Thune has yet to make his case for leadership, senators said emerging from the meeting, and instead listened to his colleagues’ concerns. Hawley said the discussion was a “frank” and “honest” open-mic meeting and that some senators discussed their own races this year — some who won and others who lost.
Before the meeting, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson circulated a letter asking for a delay. He said the conference needed to do some “real soul-searching” but admitted there was no one else on the ballot.
“That’s part of our problem, who would want this job?” he said, turning to a reporter and joking, “You want it?”
On Monday, Oklahoma Sen. Jim Lankford said there is “broad support” among Republican senators for Thune, who has made it a point to hear different perspectives before making major decisions and has maintained close relationships with the base — a different approach than his predecessor, McConnell.
Lankford said he supports holding the election Tuesday because many new Republican senators are already in town for freshman orientation.
“It’s a pretty complicated role to navigate,” Lankford said of Thune’s leadership role. “No one wants this job.”
Entering the meeting, South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds said most senators were ready to move forward. It is time to put in place “leadership,” he said.
Thune accompanied Trump during his first two years as leader
Thune has spent much of the past two years rubbing shoulders with President Donald Trump, who has often been at odds with the Senate.
While supporting Trump on most policies, Thune refused to change Senate rules and abandon the filibuster to pass the bill. electoral legislation it would require proof of citizenship for all voters — a position that has frustrated Trump and angered some members of the president’s political base.
But Trump welcomed Thune and her family to the White House in October. He said Monday that the GOP leader was “a very good man.” The election “depends on the Senate,” Trump said.
This introspection comes as lawmakers attempt to finish the year’s work — fund the government and see if there are any issues they can work on together, including a energy permit bill which advanced in a bipartisan vote Monday evening.
When he gets a chance to speak at the meeting, Thune is expected to emphasize his collaborative approach to his colleagues and highlight what they’ve accomplished over the past year — including legislation on tax and spending cuts and an attempt to curb the chaotic annual spending process.
In a speech Monday on the Senate floor, his first in-depth remarks since the election, Thune said the midterm elections had been a “tough night” and pitched his speech to colleagues who may be looking for answers about how they will navigate the minority.
Republicans will be willing to work with Democrats, Thune said, but “the American people are not looking for socialist government and left-wing fantasies.”
Despite gains, Democrats are having similar conversations
On the other hand, Democrats, who could hold as many as 56 seats next year, are holding private discussions about whether New York Senator Chuck Schumer is always the right person to lead them.
Schumer found criticism on the left and right of his caucus, with candidates on both sides refusing to say during the campaign whether they would support him as leader. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen and Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin have both considered challenging Schumer, but neither has announced a candidacy.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Schumer’s colleague in New York and head of the Democratic Senate campaign, predicted he would get enough support. Schumer not only won back the Senate, but he “cares deeply about it and he understands politics well,” she said.
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Associated Press reporter Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.
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